Drakes Creek in Kentucky

Trip Overview

Unsure of whether to risk getting rained on or not, myself and two friends flipped a coin to decide if we would paddle Drakes Creek yesterday. Heads decided that we would man up and pack a raincoat.

We loaded a Pelican Ultimate 100 DLX and Old Town Twin Otter onto our vehicle and took another car to our take out at Phil Moore Park located on Scottsville Road in Bowling Green. We then drove back to our put-in on Boyce Fairview Road in Alvaton, Kentucky. The portage to the put in was slightly difficult due to the slick muddy ground but nonetheless we put in with no major problems. It was approximately 1500 when we did so. There was little to no current to push us downstream so paddling was more of a workout than usual on the Drakes.

This trip passes some rock walls mostly on the right side of the creek. Some islands were still available for stops, but most were under water due to the amount of rain the area has received lately. Our only problem that we encountered was a down tree located on a curve. This caused my two friends in the Twin Otter to flip and the kayak was nearly sank before they could pull it to shore. I had already gone through the logjam so I paddled back upstream to help them empty the weight. This took a lot of energy out of them so when we finally made it to Romanza Johnson park on Mt. Lebanon Road (this is the first possible take out if coming from Boyce Fairview Road, the next would be Phil Moore Park where we had intended to paddle to) we decided to call a friend for a shuttle to our vehicle.

All in all it was a fair trip, but I would recommend using caution, as always, around deadfalls and logjams. When we finally loaded our boats up and got back home it was approx. 20:00. Email me if you have any questions about this particular trip and keep strokin'.